After many years waiting, writing and speaking about the subject, it appears Fibre To The Home has finally made it into the mainstream news.
So, in order to help others who may not have been involved in campaigning for FTTH for the last decade, this blog has been set up to try to keep all those who need to know about FTTx up to date with developments (or not if BT and BIS have their way), opinions, current thinking, functional projects etc.

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Friday, 28 November 2008

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Mid 2009 - Unemployment benefits to be paid in FTTH credits to stimulate new business starts ups from the latest round of redundancies and publicly fund the FTTH network. 3 million unemployed expected to be reduced by half due to new technology, says Minister.

Imaginary? I think not.

Due to unforeseen circumstances (and yes, my tongue is firmly in my cheek about WHY we are about to see this happen not the actuality of it), the UK is about to have AT LEAST 3 million unemployed. The majority of whom are qualified, experienced, and champing at the bit to be back in work. Imagine if:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The govt has decided to award everyone who is currently out of work FTTH credits for immediate true broadband connectivity in order to encourage new businesses and SMEs. The evidence has been growing about the need for this level of investment, and replacement of standard UB40 payments with true broadband credits has been on the cards for a few years.

Once again, the publication of Mr J's new ebook: "Surviving the Global Financial Crisis" saw the whole of Norfolk, Essex and the Docklands taken offline, and major problems on the UK network.

Having established a global following of some 8.3 million email subscribers, this latest ebook put UK broadband capacity over its limit, due to the inclusion of so-called Web 2.0 content - podcasts, video, and live Tweets - standard fare in other countries.

HSBC and other bank users reported the non-availability of the Network at around 6am; however, gamers were reporting it within moments of the global announcement, hitting at about 2.04am. No UK businesses were able to get online by 8am, and residential users have been overwhelming the telephony and VoIP support networks since just before 9am, when the first HD TV bingo games normally begin.

Due to the over-employment of ex-railway employees and others in the public sector during the past decade or so, the unemployment figures could easily rise to around 10million as the pension crisis escalates in the next 12 months. This has triggered major think tank reports from all sectors to put in place measures to deal with the developing crisis.

All unemployment payments will now be issued as FTTH and bandwidth credits, and not in cash. Several major retailers and supermarkets have agreed to accept the credits from any customer purchasing online. However, consumer protection agencies are threatening to boycott all outlets seeking this solution on the grounds that many people do not actually have an FTTH connection to their home, nor is there sufficient bandwidth available to keep the nation fed.

"The lack of food, let alone fuel for cars, and the failure of this Government to implement an integrated transport policy is exacerbating the problem, leaving many stranded in remote villages such as Fallowfield in Manchester. Unable to connect to the Net, or afford transport, were such available, we are now leaving valuable civil servants and others in their homes to rot, without work or food," said Amy Mcpherson of the Citizens Rights Agency (Politics).

We expect an update from our local reporters around the country in the next few minutes.

Thursday, 27 November 2008

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Isn't it strange how we Brits work? The customers can complain all they want about the state of broadband in the UK, but it takes a report by the ONS for people to sit up and listen. All except the regulators, of course.

At what point will the true reality of the broadband situation in the UK finally be realised, and the telcos' lies, damned lies and moronic advertising campaigns be revealed to all and sundry? As well as ofcom, BSG, industry quangos, government think tanks, and all the rest's preposterous kerb crawling on this issue be stopped?

How hard can it be for actual speeds to be assessed on a national, customer level basis? After all, if we can run small apps on people's home computers to look for aliens (SETI@Home etc) then surely we can run a similar app to test people's actual speeds?

This country has lost itself in many ways, as we all know. I only really care about broadband, my business and my kids' education and future, but they are all intimately tied together for me as an Internet Marketer, reliant on my connection to work, progress and develop my company, and therefore run my home. (Which is of course why I started all this campaigning a very long 13 years ago).

The economic case for FTTH has long ago been proven, and the fact that so many people are dissatisfied with their connectivity has been apparent for a long time. Not just the speeds and quality of service, but ISPs customer service too. It is though now so hard to make a complaint about your broadband to _anyone_ that, judging by the number of calls I personally get to try and resolve problems in my village alone, everyone has given up trying the ISPs and Ofcom. When the BBC ran a quick survey on broadband, it turned out to be the most intensive, responded to article they have EVER run on their website.

Whoever gets FTTH in first, with decent customer service, preferably owned and managed by its users, will win this endgame. End of. We are all heartily sick of the telcos, of Ofcom failing to grasp or even clutch at the straws of reality, of Government pratting around bailing out banks and financial institutions with shedloads more of our money than would be required to FTTH even the most remote farmhouse, and all the rest of the wastage and idiocy going on.

In my letter going up the chimney, it clearly says, "Please, Santa, I have been very, very good this year (again). Please, please, please can I have broadband now? 100Mbps symmetrical. I will share it with others if I really have to, and I'm happy to dig for it. I really have waited more than long enough now and been incredibly patient. Please?"

Friday, 21 November 2008

Nice to know other countries have companies/telcos who have seen the light, literally. Seems the Dutch regulator OPTA will make an announcement next Monday about the issue, and a green light has already been given by the competition authority (our Monopolies Commission, at a guess). A neat JV will be put in place, Glashart, of which KPN will have 41% of the holding with the option to increase that to a majority stake.

100% coverage. Hmmm, let's hazard a guess what percentage FTTH there will be in the UK by the time this type of project comes to fruition elsewhere in the EU, shall we? Especially after BT's 'threats' this week about not doing anything much without a far looser regulatory environment. (Which actually implies consumers and competition will be shoved into the background if the threat is taken seriously and BT (and its shareholders) is given the chance to have it all their own way).

I wish it was a co-operative JV, but even so, lucky bloody Dutch!!! Read more!

Sunday, 16 November 2008

And we in UK and EU have........? I can't even find out whose is the fibre going up the A road within 500yds from me, let alone anything useful like where the notspots are likely to be for next gen....Read more!

Although it is deeply Americanised, much of what is covered in this guide bears relevance to those looking to develop community FTTH in Europe. Obviously, the lack of a co-operative or mutual model within the case studies is a shame; however, each municipality seems to be seeing a ROI which undoubtedly has a positive effect on the communities' coffers.

ECFibernet is also worth keeping an eye on to see how the sustainability and profitability to rural areas pans out. Although the legal issues may be different in the US, the economics for rural areas in pretty much any area of the EU are similar.